Last updated: 22 September 2026
Afromium ranks money-transfer providers by one number: how much your recipient actually receives. This page explains exactly how we get to that number, where the numbers come from, what we do not check, and what we refuse to do.
The number that matters
Every international transfer has two costs: the fee the provider shows you, and the difference between the exchange rate they give you and the real market rate. The second cost is usually larger and almost never shown. We add both together and report the result the only way that is honest — as the amount that lands on the other side.
A provider advertising “zero fees” with a 3% exchange-rate markup costs more than one charging €3 and giving the real rate. Our comparisons are built so that difference is visible at a glance.
The benchmark we measure against
We use the European Central Bank’s daily reference rate as the “mid-market” benchmark for every currency it publishes — that covers the euro against the US dollar, pound sterling, Indian rupee, Philippine peso and Mexican peso, among others. It is public, independent, and updated every business day. For currencies the ECB does not publish — the Nigerian naira is one — we use a cross-rate built from the ECB’s EUR/USD rate and the USD/NGN rate published by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and every page says which benchmark it used. The gap between a provider’s rate and that benchmark is what we call the exchange-rate markup, and we show it as a percentage on every comparison.
Where our numbers come from
- The provider’s own quote, not its advertising. We take the figure a provider gives for a stated amount, corridor and delivery method at the point where it shows the final rate and fee — not the indicative rate on a home page, a press release, or a partner feed.
- Captured by hand, and timestamped. Every figure on this site was read off the provider’s own screen by a person, and the page records the date and time it was captured.
- The same moment for everyone in a comparison. Rates move during the day, so all providers in one table are captured inside the same short window. A quote from this morning compared against one from yesterday is a meaningless number.
- Standard amounts. We capture at fixed amounts (typically €100, €500 and €1,000), because fees behave differently at different sizes and a single amount hides that.
- One delivery method at a time. Where a provider offers several ways for the recipient to get the money (bank deposit, cash pickup, mobile wallet), every figure says which one it refers to. Comparing a bank deposit with a cash pickup is comparing two different products.
What we do not check
This matters as much as what we do check, so it is on the page rather than buried in a footnote.
- We do not currently send test transfers ourselves. Our figures are what a provider quotes, not receipts for money that has landed. Where we ever publish a figure from a transfer we actually made, the page will say so explicitly.
- Deductions on the receiving end. A receiving bank or cash agent can take a charge that the sending provider never shows. Where we know this happens on a route, we say so — but we cannot confirm it first-hand, and the amount you see quoted may not be the amount collected.
- Delivery times are the provider’s own estimate, repeated as such. We do not have our own measurement of how long a route really takes.
- Account opening, limits and verification. We report what a provider publishes about these. We have not been through every signup ourselves.
How we rank
- Providers are ranked by amount received for the stated send amount and delivery method.
- If two providers are within a rounding margin of each other, the faster one ranks higher.
- Providers that don’t serve a corridor, or whose quote we could not obtain, are listed below the ranking with an explanation, not silently left out.
- Nothing else moves the ranking. Not commission rates, not advertising, not whether a provider has a relationship with us.
How often numbers are updated
- Exchange rates are refreshed daily from the ECB reference rate, or from the stated alternative source for currencies the ECB does not publish.
- Provider fees and rate markups are re-captured by hand on a fixed schedule — at least monthly, and more often for the corridors we cover most closely.
- Every page shows the date its rates and fees were last checked. If a number is older than we’d like, the page says so rather than hiding it.
What we don’t do
- We don’t accept payment for a ranking, a review score, or a “recommended” label.
- We don’t publish provider marketing copy as if it were our finding.
- We don’t give personal financial advice. Our comparisons are general information; your situation may differ, and you should confirm the final amount with the provider before sending.
- We don’t show a live quote on the site. Rates shown are our most recent verified check, clearly dated; the provider’s app shows the live figure at the moment you send.
How we make money
When you sign up with a provider through a link on Afromium, we may earn a commission. It is disclosed on every page where it applies, and it has no effect on rankings — see our affiliate disclosure. Some informational pages also carry advertising.
Corrections
If we got something wrong — a fee, a rate, a delivery option, anything — tell us. We check every report, correct the page, and note the correction on it. Being right matters more to us than being first.
Who publishes this
Afromium is published by Afromium Digital Solutions, based in Finland. It is independent: it is not a bank, a money-transfer service, or a financial adviser, and it is not owned by or affiliated with any provider it reviews.